| Summary: | Background: Pulpotomy is a therapeutic conservative procedure involving the amputation of the infected coronal pulp and dressing the remaining noninfected pulp tissue with a suitable material. An antimicrobial pulp dressing material is key to avoid failure of the treatment due to any residual microflora. <italic>Allium sativum</italic>, commonly known as “Garlic” is one of the most widely researched natural entities due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antifungal properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of garlic extract (<italic>A. sativum</italic>) in the concentrations of 100%, 50%, and 25% against <italic>Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus</italic> using the agar well diffusion method.
Methodology: The microorganisms <italic>S. mutans</italic> and <italic>L. acidophilus</italic> were isolated from the patient’s saliva and were identified using the biochemical test. Five wells were prepared using a sterile template in agar plates. The garlic extract in the concentrations of 100%, 50%, and 25%, formocresol (positive control), and ethanol (negative control) was added to the prepared wells. The agar plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours and 48 hours in a candle extinction jar for <italic>S. mutans</italic> and an anaerobic jar for <italic>L. acidophilus</italic>, respectively.
Results: All the tested concentrations of the garlic extract demonstrated antimicrobial activity against <italic>S. mutans</italic> and <italic>L. acidophilus</italic>. Formocresol in 1:5 concentration (positive control) showed excellent antimicrobial activity and no antimicrobial activity was observed with ethanol (negative control) at 24 hours and 48 hours. Antimicrobial activity is reduced by reducing the concentration of garlic extract. It was found that <italic>L. acidophilus</italic> was more sensitive to different concentrations of garlic extract than <italic>S. mutans</italic>.
Conclusion: All the tested concentrations of garlic extracts exhibited varying antimicrobial activities against <italic>S. mutans</italic> and <italic>L. acidophilus</italic>. Considering the antimicrobial activity, <italic>A. sativum</italic> can be considered as a suitable alternative to formocresol as a pulpotomy medicament.
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